Harold Weinberg displays 80 years of photography

‘Amateur expert’ photographer hosts show at Somerby in Alpharetta

Harold, right, and Florence Weinberg are residents of Somerby of Alpharetta, where Harold is displaying his photos.

BETSY RHAME-MINOR

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Monday, December 24, 2012 12:00 am

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BETSY RHAME-MINOR

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — When Harold Weinberg was 12, he received a camera as a gift from his family.

It wasn’t long before he discovered he had an eye for landscape photography.

At 16, he took a photo titled “The Canoeist,” which won first prize at the New York Sportsman’s Show. That was nearly eight decades ago.

“The Canoeist” plus 17 other of Weinberg’s photographs are on display in the lobby of independent living community Somerby, 100 Somerby Drive in Alpharetta, where Harold Weinberg and his wife, Florence, have lived for the past two years.

“He doesn’t have a fancy camera, just a good eye,” said Florence.

Weinberg, who recently celebrated his 95th birthday, has never had any formal training in photography. He figured it all out on his own. Ten years ago, he learned to use Photoshop.

Today, while he’s no longer taking as many photos as he once did, he’s tweaking pictures he took many years ago, by changing colors or adding other items into the photographs that weren’t there originally. He refers to himself as an “amateur expert.”

Photography is a hobby Weinberg has kept returning to over the years as time allowed.

“I had a busy business life and raised my family,” Weinberg said. “It’s been a hobby off and on all my life.”

Weinberg hasn’t entered his work into shows in several years, though he has won awards from the Roswell Photographic Society, where he’s also a member.

Weinberg said he’s lost count of how many shows and exhibitions he’s entered over his life as a photographer.

A few weeks ago, when Florence was in the lobby of their building, she noticed an empty wall. She spoke with one of the staff members about putting Harold’s photographs there.

The staff agreed and 12 hours later, 18 of the 500 pictures Weinberg keeps in his office in their apartment upstairs were hanging on the walls for residents to enjoy.

His office is also where his Eagle Scout Award he received in 1938 is kept.

All of Weinberg’s prints from the show are also for sale with the proceeds benefitting the Dr. Sandy Weinberg Student Service Learning Awards Program, a general scholarship fund named in memory of their son, a former professor at Clayton State University.

Weinberg’s show is open to the public and will be on display through mid-January.